Kelly Clarkson Says Her Kids Want Her To Get Back Together With Her Ex-Husband

Kelly Clarkson and her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock have not been together since she filed for divorce in 2020. That’s three years, which is a long time in the life of their two children, 9-year-old daughter River Rose and 7-year-old son Remington “Remy” Alexander. But as they continue to co-parent, according to the singer, her kids are “really adamant about keeping the dream alive” that their parents might someday reconcile.

Clarkson recently sat down for a chat with author and activist Glennon Doyle for her podcast We Can Do The Hard Things where the two moms discussed divorce, family, and what it feels like to be starting over. A difficult task when your kids sort of want you to go back to the way things were.

“My kids just came back from my ex and it’s always like — any time there’s mention of maybe him being with somebody else — they are just really adamant about keeping that dream alive that we might still be together one day,” the talk show host told Doyle, adding that she and Blackstock don’t really communicate. “We are never around each other.”

Clarkson and Blackstock were married for seven years before divorcing over “irreconcilable differences,” and Clarkson has admitted that she was worried about what their marriage might teach her daughter. “I looked at [my daughter] her and thought, would I want my daughter to be in this position? Like is this what I want for her?” Clarkson said on the Angie Martinez IRL Podcast in March. “No I don't. So why would I want it for me? It just kind of changed the perspective on it but it’s a difficult thing.”

Clarkson admitted during her chat with Doyle that she tried hard to stay in her marriage because she didn’t want River and Remy to “be those kids at school,” the ones with divorced parents. And as someone whose parents divorced when she was just 6 years old herself, she understands what she’s talking about.

“It’s a little different — they grew up here and it’s a very progressive city. But in the south, there was like two of us with divorced parents in our class. So it was very different,” Clarkson said of her kids’ experience compared to her own. “Even when you come down to like, daddy-daughter dances and you don’t have anyone show up. You have to think about all of those things and you play it out differently in your head too.”

Now that she has moved on with her life, the “Since You’ve Been Gone” singer believes she is a “far better mother” to her kids. She has found a way to look at the positive side of being a single parent, like enjoying a little downtime over the holidays that she might not have had before.

And yes, it is difficult for kids to accept their new normal. But acknowledging their feelings and helping them through it like Clarkson is a big step towards embracing their different lives. She’s got it figured out.